The Martyr Chronicles ~ Story Thread

As Gudbrand walked along the fence, he couldn't help but dwell on the nightmare he had...

He was sweeping his kitchen floor, his mother and sister preparing fowl on the counter, laughter and smiles circulated throughout the room...

The sky outside grew dark, and as Gudbrand walked outside to investigate, the air around him grew stiff and stank of metal. He walked out towards where the carrots were planted and saw a glowing red amulet laying on the ground. He went to pick it up, but then a skeletal hand snatched him by the wrist and dragged him into his home. The specter, hooded and decrepit, threw him against the wall, and out of his peripheral, he could see the mangled bodies of his mother and sister.

"YOU MONSTER! BODIN SAVE YOU!"

The demon's eyes settled on Gudbrand's own, dark and solemn. It removed it's hood, and the eyes changed from ominous to familiar; it was Father.
"O, praeclarum custodum ovium lupum!"

Gudbrand screamed as his eyes started to bleed and his skin started to burn.

Agrus rode a horse through the rugged steppes. It were the steppes of his childhood, that blissful time that had been. He spotted a village in the distance and recalled his mission. He was to exterminate the village and bring back promising youngsters.

He urged his horse to make haste, as did his comrades. They stormed the village and murdered everyone who they came across. When the coast was clear he dismounted and entered the nearest hut. He came across a woman fiercely defending a young child. A swift stroke of his blade and the obstacle was removed. He grabbed the boy by his hairs and sized him up. He had a decent body for his age. Agrus slapped him. The boy remained silent. He punched him in the nose.

The nose bled. He could taste the boy's blood as it trickled into his mouth. He even felt the blood trickle down his nose. His mouth was slowly filling itself with the red liquid. He coughed loudly, trying to empty his mouth.

With a bloodied face Agrus rolled out of bed and roughly clad himself. He walked towards the water keg, careful to keep his blood out of the fresh water, and filled a bowl. He put the bowl on the table, splashed his face a couple of times and then looked into the bowl. Leaning on his arms he slowly followed each drop of blood as it exited his nose and dripped into the water.

Why do you torture me? I didn't kill you. I love you. Mother...

He closed his eyes and balled his fists. Tears joined the stream of blood.

"You there, stop!" the guard yelled out to Amgine as he caught his stealing pheasant from the stand he was standing by. The guard turned around to gather the rest of his guards. When he turned back around, Amgine was already gone.

He had slipped down an alley in a blink of an eye and walked behind the shops that littered the streets. Amgine pulled down his mask to eat his pheasant he had just took.

"Not bad" Amgine said to himself as he ripped the flesh form the bird and shoved it into his mouth.

Just as he turned the corner he ran into a young and fair woman. "Faret, where have you been?" she shouted at him as she hit him in his chest with her dainty fists.

"Oh, Trist, I am sorry I had to run out the other night. You see, I remembered that my mother was sick and she had sent me to the market to get her some herbs before I ran into you."

The woman instantly believe Amgine said. "That's okay, what are you doing now? You want to go walk to the country side with me?"

"Ohh, I can't you see, I am in the middle of a job. One of the nobles asked me to hand deliver a message to his brother. I would love to go with you buthe stressed the importance of getting the letter there quickly."

"I understand" the woman said disappointed. "Well, when can I see you again?"

"Soon" was all Amgine said before he disappeared from the woman's sight.

"I don't even remember her" he thought to himself as he slipped up onto the rooftop of a building. He sat down and finished his free meal and then threw the birds carcass over the side of the building.

Gudbrand began walking back towards the inn, still distraught from his nightmare. It had been six months since his family perished in the fire and he was emotionally frail to being with since Father never came home. He mouthed out a proverb in latin as he reached the inn door.

As he walked in, he heard whispers down the hallways. He turned towards the sound, but saw nothing. Curiosity piqued, he went upstairs to see if the patrons were okay. Peeking into every room, he found them sound asleep, but something about the inn made him uneasy.
"Something isn't sound here..."

He was just about to walk to his room when he heard a crash in the lobby. Alarmed, he sped down the stairs.

"You better leave or I'll ring up the guard!"

As he burst into the lobby, he shook his head in disbelief; a hooded man was standing at the inn door and the room was in shambles. The man, a figure of incredible stature and a burning essence, removed his hood to see clearly in the dim light.

"I see your inn reserves rooms for demons."

Gudbrand looked at the man. He was about fifty, but his eyes told him that he had to be thirty. His eyes were serene, but his face was hardened beyond compare. Apart from having an astounding presence, his voice was feeble.

"I have a friend who may be able to help you. I'm sure your inn is struggling to find patrons because of the rumors. He can help banish the demons... for a blood price..."

Activus crouched silently in the shrubbery, stalking a tall, graceful doe. He watched as it cautiously made its way towards the pond. It slowly lowered its head for a drink.

"Akmira, Lord of Nature, grant this creature a painless end," He whispered to himself as he slowly rose from the shrubbery and placed a quiver on his bow string. "Grant that my hands be steady and my aim be true." He pulled the quiver back and stood with perfect posture. "Forgive me, Akmira." He uttered as he released the quiver from his fingertips and watched it fly with pin point accuracy towards his target. Upon contact the doe hit the ground below, silently. Swiftly, Activus rushed toward the fallen creature and unsheathed his knife. He put his lips to its ear and whispered "Thank you friend, for you grant me life for another day." He pressed the knife to the animals throat and cut it open to stop the beasts suffering.

"One day I too will nourish the earth as well..." He said as he carried the doe back to his makeshift camp.

After the nosebleed had receded, Agrus cleaned himself. Sine fresh clothes and a clean shave was what he needed to reset his mind from that horrible night. He hoped those memories wouldn't come back to haunt him anymore.

He walked towards his armoury, consisting of a battered breast plate, greaves and his trusty longsword. The insignia of Maleficia could faintly be seen under ages of accumulated dirt, blood and wear. For nostalgia's sake, he put them on once more.

Agrus felt the glory of old. He rememberd those times when he fought crime and upheld righteousness. but with a pang of guilt his mind wandered to those othere places. The dark memories where he slew innocents to silence mobs. Where left criminals go unpunished, because Saint Bodin wanted it to.

The pain in his chest started to become more unbearable. His heart felt as if it would be ripped out of his chest. The air around seemed like mud. He lost control of all of his senses. Sight, hearing, touch, tast, all were in the hands of something else. His swordarm gently rose, the blade aiming for his neck.

Something appeared before him. An apparition. No, not one: hundreds of spirits slowly filled his little appartment. His eyes wandered over their faces, but he didn't need that to confirm his hears. These were the ghosts of the innocents he killed. All these people, adult or child, had died by his cause.

But their leader was the mist frightning thing of all. Her stride was firece. Her face was stern. Her skin was dark. She slapped him with a force that he even felt in his toes. He wanted to buckle, but his feet didn't let him. "Look at what you've done" she yelled, "look at the lives you've ruined. You're scum!" He was allowed to respond, "I didn't want to. Pleas let me go mother. I only want to live.""You need to redeem yourself. You have lived in sin for far too long. It's time you give something back." His sword slowly crept closer towards his neck. He wanted to plead, but they didn't allow it.

Gudbrand watched as the old man waved the burning torch of sage through the lobby. A heaviness moved throughout, like he was breathing in nothing but could still feel the air leave his lungs.

"I'm afraid they're not going away," said the man

Gudbrand kicked the lobby desk. He looked up at the ceiling and cursed under his breath.

"This cannot be happening. This is the only place in town that'll hire me."

The old man wavered over to him and waved the torch around his torso. The smoke started to grow thicker and darker, but it wasn't from the torch itself. The old man looked astonised.

"It appears that the demons are attached... to you, Gud."

Gudbrand couldn't believe what he heard. He never thought the shadows he thought he had seen were actually stalking him, and the stunning realization is that he never really felt their presence until today.

The old man dropped the torch and his eyes lit up with demonic flame. He took Gudbrand by the arm and forced him into the kitchen.
"What the hell are you doing?!"

The man reached for the knife drawer and pulled out the only knife that wasn't dull. He pinned Gudbrand's arm to the table, but when the blade was only inches away from his wrist, Gudbrand grabbed the back of his head and pulled back. The man yelled in pain and attempted to claim his blood once again. The hooded man came bursting through the door and took the old man by the torso.

"Leave! I'll keep him busy, just go!"

Gudbrand ran outside as fast as he could. He knew something wasn't right about that man, but he never thought that within that frail exterior was a harboring demon out to get him. He got on his horse and darted down the oak road. He would never return to the town again.

All able men are to report to their town guards for assignment to the holy army. Anyone found without military status will be fined, or depending on the length of their absence, executed under pain of treason.

Men over the age of sixty are exempt of this responsibility due to their inability to properly fight.

The news of the edict spreads across Maleficia like wildfire, even reaching the ears of those in lesser known mountain towns. Riots spark across the kingdom, riots that are quickly extinguished by the local guard by protocol. A grim shadow falls on once happy homes. How will families provide for their young? Will their children have to work as well, and will a daily meal come at the expense of the degradation of purity?